Food court 10-25

How about some different potato recipes to go along with your fall meals? Potatoes are so easy to fix and really economical.

Baked Potatoes with Bacon Butter

6 slices bacon

4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped chives, about 10 chives

3/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Preheat oven to 400°. In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp; about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Reserve 2 teaspoons bacon fat. Let cool. Pierce potatoes several times with a fork. Using your hands, rub potatoes with reserved bacon fat. Place directly on oven rack and bake until tender when tested with a fork, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile crumble reserved bacon. In a small bowl, combine with butter, chives and dry mustard. Then turn out onto a 3-by-12-inch piece of plastic wrap, roll into a 1 inch thick log and twist ends to seal. Refrigerate until firm. To serve break or cut open potatoes and fluff using a fork. Top each with a dollop of bacon butter.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

1 bag Ore-Ida country style hash browns

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups corn flakes, crushed

3 green onion tops and most of the green part, chopped

1/4 cup butter, melted

Mix soup, sour cream, salt, pepper, green onions and cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add hash browns and stir to combine. Place in greased 13-by-9-inch pan. Top with butter and cornflakes mixed together. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes until bubbly around the edges.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Scrub and pierce potatoes; place on a microwave safe plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 12 to 14 minutes or until tender turning once. When cool enough to handle, cut a thin slice off the top of each potato and discard. Scoop out pulp leaving a thin shell. In a large bowl, mash the pulp. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, butter and salt. Mix well. Spoon into the potato shells. Place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 12 to 15 minutes or until heated through and topping is golden brown.

Roasted Sweet Potato Fries

2 medium sweet potatoes

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

Coarse salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450°. Leaving sweet potatoes unpeeled, scrub and slice into 10 thick wedges each. Place potatoes and olive oil in a plastic zippered bag, close and toss to coat. Arrange slices, not touching on an oiled baking sheet. Bake 25 minutes, turn, and continue to bake 15 more minutes or until they are golden and crisp. Sprinkle with the coarse salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4. About 20 large fries.

Russian Potatoes

6 cups chopped sweet onions

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup butter, cubed, divided

1 tablespoon sugar

4 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 14 1/2-ounce cans chicken broth

3 cups sour cream, divided

1 cup heavy whipping cream

4 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon dill weed

In a large skillet, saute onions in oil and 1/3 cup butter until softened. Stir in sugar. Reduce heat to medium low, cook, stirring occasionally for 40 minutes or until deep golden brown. Meanwhile, place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl. Add 1 cup sour cream, the cream, eggs, dill and remaining butter. Beat until mashed. Spread half of potatoes into a greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish, layer with onions and remaining potatoes. Gently spread remaining sour cream over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Serves 12.

Waffle House Hash Browns

4 cups peeled and shredded potatoes

1 teaspoon salt

Water

1 cup ice

Vegetable oil for frying

Place prepared potatoes in a 2-quart bowl and add salt. Add ice and pour enough water to cover potatoes. Stir to mix salt and ice in the potatoes. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Place shredded potatoes in a colander, rinse with cool tap water and drain completely. At this point you can place potatoes back in the refrigerator, covered, until ready to fry. The uncooked potatoes will keep up to 5 hours. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add enough vegetable oil to lightly cover bottom. When skillet is hot and oil has been heated, place two cups of drained shredded potatoes in skillet. Fry until crisp, shaping with a spatula. Fry about 12 to 15 minutes, without turning. Time depends on the temperature and size of the shredded hash browns. When potatoes are golden, flip over carefully and fry tops of potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes. Do not cover hash browns while frying or stir through them.

Waffle House Hash Browns Scattered all the Way

1 slice American cheese (covered)

1/4 cup diced yellow onion (smothered)

Sliced jalapeno peppers to taste (peppered)

1/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes (diced)

1/4 cup mushrooms (capped)

1/3 cup diced lean ham (chunked)

1/3 cup chili with beans, heated

1 serving Waffle House Hash Browns

Prepare Waffle House Hash Browns as directed. Leave them in the skillet and add cheese, onion, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and ham. When done, add chili on top of all.

* On Saturday nights after the Midnight Jamboree, we’d always stop for these. My favorite way was scattered, smothered and covered, which was the hash browns, onions and slice of cheese. I can still taste them. Yummy!

Scalloped Russet and Sweet Potatoes

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1 large onion, peeled

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 cups milk

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

5 medium russet potatoes

1 medium sweet potato

Fresh whole nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°. Aggressively rub inside of 2 1/2- to 3-quart gratin dish with garlic clove, coat with the 1 tablespoon butter. Set aside. With a mandoline or very sharp knife slice onion about 1/16-inch thick. In skillet, over low heat, cook onion in olive oil until tender, sprinkling well with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, stir in thyme leaves. Set aside. In small saucepan heat milk and cream just until simmering. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour until combined. Remove from heat and whisk in hot milk and cream, a little at a time, until incorporated. Return to heat, bring to a gentle boil. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened. Peel all potatoes. With a mandoline or very sharp knife, slice potatoes about 1/16-inch thick. Layer one third of russet and sweet potato slices in prepared dish. Season with salt pepper and two or three light gratings of nutmeg. Scatter about one-third of the onions on top of potatoes. Spoon a one-third of cream mixture on potatoes. Create two more layers with remaining potatoes, onions, seasonings and cream mixture, finishing with cream mixture on top. Bake, uncovered, 45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 425°. Bake 10 to 15 minutes more or until bubbly, golden crusty brown and potatoes are tender when pierced with a wooden pick. Remove from oven. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Potato Pancake

2 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter

4 cups frozen hash browns (1 pound), thawed

Coarse salt

Ground pepper

2 1/2 teaspoons butter

In an 8-inch nonstick skillet, melt unsalted butter over medium high heat. Add hash browns and press evenly into skillet with a rubber spatula. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Cook, pressing on potatoes and tucking in edges occasionally with spatula, until crisp and deep golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Adjust heat if necessary to prevent cake from over browning. Flip pancake and repeat, adding 2 1/2 teaspoons to butter to skillet. To serve, cut pancake into quarters. Serves 4.

Hope you’ll enjoy these dishes. Some take a little time but are well worth the effort. If you need to reach me, you can email me at judyd2313@frontier.com or drop a line to my attention to the BCR, P.O. Box 340, Princeton, IL 61356. If any of you have some special dishes that you’d like to pass on, send a copy of the recipe to me and I’ll put it in the paper with your name and town. Thanks so much.